MACHINE MENACE

I recently received a letter addressed to my father (who died in January this year), from Philips Healthcare and Air Liquide Healthcare. The letter advised of a “Product Defect Correction” – referencing the (potential?) danger of the sleep apnoea device he had been using for a number of years. Apparently the “foam” in the machine can degrade and break up, allowing ingestion of particles by the wearer.

The letter advised if the wearer ingested the particles he/she may suffer a number of illnesses, including skin, eye and respiratory tract irritation, adverse effects to organs – kidney and liver, and carcinogenic affects.

Now, I am not saying the machine caused my father’s demise, but you have to wonder when his death was caused by a number of ailments including pneumonia precipitated by a major internal bleed.

My father’s machine was sponsored by the federal government. Who licenses these machines? Is the Therapeutic Goods Administration responsible for allowing their use? These machines are used

to assist sleeping/breathing and one would have thought the materials used in their manufacture would be checked to ensure safety – particularly to internal organs like the lungs (which they are alleged to assist), by feeding pressurised air (and debris?) directly into the respiratory tract!

What other “medical machines” are in use that have the potential to kill or seriously injure the users due to the degradation of materials used in their manufacture?

Mike Flynn

Howrah